


Roseate Oath

by komorykatt



Category: Tales of Graces, Tales of the Rays (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Marriage Proposal, Spoilers, happy end au inspired by rays arc 3 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25471114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/komorykatt/pseuds/komorykatt
Summary: The ancient traditions of Odanse had long since faded into the eternal passage of time, but even still they would live on through the heartfelt promise between Mileena and her future wife, Cheria.
Relationships: Cheria Barnes/Mileena Weiss
Kudos: 6
Collections: Tales of Femslash Week 2020





	Roseate Oath

**Author's Note:**

> For Tales of Femslash Week Day 5: Cattail (Peace/Prosperity)  
> -*-*-  
> This is set a few years after Whenever rays story ever ends, warning for some rays arc 3 spoilers!!

In a word dyed purest pink, the wayward mirrist at last linked her future with that of an angel.

Atop the highest hill of Odanse, Mileena and Cheria stood side by side before a lone cherry tree. The cool breeze that tousled their hair smelt finely of spring and ocean, as the lovely scent of every flower in bloom mixed with the salty air of a quaint fishing village. Rosy petals fell around them, drifting upon the wind down to their feet below. It was like a beautiful pink snowfall, languid petals gently blown from their branches to cover the ground in a bed of cherry blossoms.

“So I... just carve my name here? Does it matter where?” There was apprehension apparent in Cheria’s voice. Her brown eyes drifted up and down over the tree’s trunk, as if examining it several times over would make the perfect spot jump out at her. 

Mileena caught herself staring, her gaze stuck on every delicate curve of Cheria’s face. She truly looked stunning as she stood against the cherry tree, the warm light of the setting sun framing her body like a glowing pink angel. The blossoms fell all around her heavenly beauty, and stray petals clung to her between curly locks of fuschia like a crown upon her head. Unconsciously Mileena reached out and plucked one from her hair, a smile bright and alive on her lips.

Cheria jolted at her touch, her eyes wide and accusing. “M-Mileena?! Are you even listening to me?” 

“Oh! Sorry, sorry! I totally got distracted by your good looks there.” Mileena blurted between a trill of laughter, and she waved her hands to plead innocent, prompting Cheria to roll her eyes. “You can carve anywhere you want. Just make sure I have room to write mine, too.”

“Unbelievable... You’re still teasing me even when you know how nervous I am about this.” A pout sat on Cheria’s face, but the twinkle in her eyes defied her words.

“You know you love it.” Mileena leaned in closer and playfully butt her elbow into Cheria’s shoulder. “I promise there’s nothing to be nervous about, Cheria. Dana won’t come down and smite us if your handwriting is sloppy.”

“Hey, that’s not what I’m worried about!” Cheria suppressed a laugh and retaliated, jamming her elbow against Mileena with noticeably more force. Oh, how Mileena loved that fiery spirit of hers. “I know you said it was part of your village’s customs, but... What does it all mean, exactly? We didn’t have anything like this in Lhant, or even anywhere in Ephinea as far as I know.”

Oh, that was right. She hadn’t given Cheria a proper explanation before whisking her off to the hills, did she? She had been so giddy from the proposal, after the way Cheria said _yes_ and the passionate kiss that followed, she had rushed her to the tree without much more than a plea to follow her.

“Well, this had always been customary in Odanse for couples who decided to get married. They’d carve their names and the date into a tree trunk as soon as they were engaged. It was meant to be a symbol of their engagement, written in the trees for nature to remember forever.” Mileena’s face was flushed as she explained, lovely memories of stories she was told as a child dancing in her mind's eye. “Not only that, but... my mom always told me that if a couple carved their names into a cherry blossom in full bloom, their love was sure to prosper.”

“ _Oh,_ ” was all that Cheria could manage. All at once the worries buzzing in her mind, the thoughts of _‘Is it a friendship oath? Didn’t Mileena just_ **_propose_ ** _to me?’_ quieted in an instant. “That’s so beautiful, Mileena...”

“Right? So go ahead!” Her hand pressed against Cheria’s back, and she gave a gentle nudge for her to approach the tree. Cheria clutched her knife just a bit harder in her palm, and smiled.

The tip of the blade met with bark, and she carved the first letter in a careful curve. It felt almost horribly ironic for her to be carving her name like that, as if the powers above were laughing at the feelings of her past. All of that jealousy that had dwelt in her heart after that day upon Lhant Hill, after the day she saw Asbel, Richard, and Sophie’s names etched into the tree when she was still so young— it all felt so silly now. 

She had spent so much time wishing that her name could be carved there with theirs, right next Asbel’s so that she may finally fit in beside him. Now she was carving her name into a different tree upon a different world, with someone besides the one she thought was the man of her dreams. With the woman that was to be her wife.

Cheria thought to herself how she simply _had_ to tell Asbel about this later. Surely he would get a laugh out of how in this world’s new and beautiful culture, the two happily in love men were _technically_ already engaged. The look on his face would be priceless.

With a final curve of the wrist, Cheria drew her knife away from the tree. “There. How does it look?”

 _‘Cheria Barnes’_ was written in perfect etch upon the tree, a sight that made Mileena’s heart flutter. _This was really happening._ “It’s perfect.” She said, simply.

Her hands were cupped together in joy as she stared at her fiancée's name, until the shine of a blade entered her vision. Cheria held out her knife to Mileena, offering it up for her turn to carve. Mileena’s heart swelled.

She took the knife and pressed a kiss to Cheria’s cheek in thanks. Then she began to carve her name next to Cheria’s.

It was like a dream, every twist of the blade as she carved feeling so surreal. After all they had been through, all the ups and downs, the unspoken feelings, they were going to be married. So much had happened since the day she met the nexus named Cheria Barnes, and they saw their world through hell and back again together. Did she really deserve a bright future, after all she’d done? Was this all just a dream?

No, this was _her_ life. She wouldn’t let the weight of Gefion’s sins weigh her down anymore. She deserved this happiness.

Mileena finished carving her name, then wrote the day’s date underneath their names. It was an oath, forever inscribed in nature. She pulled away from the tree and beamed at Cheria.

“Thank you for doing this for me, Cheria. It means so much...” Mileena could feel the bead of tears stinging to life in the corner of her eyes, and the knot in her throat that tried to strangle her voice with emotion.

Cheria quirked her head at the sight, then reached to cup Mileena’s cheek in the palm of her hand. She was gentle, always so gentle. “You don’t have to thank me, silly. I _am_ your fiancée. Of course I want to be a part of your customs!”

But it went deeper than just customs for Mileena. In the back of her mind, it almost felt as though she had done a great disservice to the memory of Gefion— of the _original_ Mileena Weiss. She and the first Ix Nieves had carved their names upon a tree just the very same way, on a pleasant spring day underneath the cherry blossoms. The beautiful spring blooms did not serve to grant them prosperity, however; their love doomed to a fate too cruel to bear. Mileena was born only to be a _do-over_ , a second chance at the future with Ix that Gefion so longed for.

Yet here she stood, asking a poor girl torn from her world by the whims of her original self for her hand in marriage.

Mileena looked to Cheria, staring into her warm, kind eyes. She didn’t look at all like a poor girl who missed her home; she looked like a woman in love, happy to be standing right where she stood. The years they had spent together chased away the uncertainty that had hid in the back of her gaze. She knew that Cheria was happy to be a part of Tir Na Nog, and a part of Mileena’s life. That wonderful moment in time— the two of them standing there alone before the tree that stood as proof of their love— was how things were meant to be.

With this oath, she broke out of Gefion’s shadow. Her love, their names etched upon a tree, was living proof that she was _herself_ ; not just a second Mileena, and not Gefion. Her emotions were her own, and she had a bright and beautiful future all her own ahead of her. And she would share it with the most beautiful woman in the world, the one she’d soon call her wife.

Mileena leaned into Cheria’s hand and closed her eyes. “I love you.” She said, her voice soft in Cheria’s ear. 

“I love you, too.” The response was like music to her ears.

She basked in the moment for a while longer, enjoying the peace of Cheria’s touch. Then Mileena broke away and took a step back. Cheria was surprised that she hadn’t instead stepped further into her touch, but she watched as Mileena cupped her hands in front of her waist. Her eyes closed, and particles of anima swirled and gleamed at her fingertips. The sparks of light coalesced in her palms, until a large pink lily sat in her hand.

Mileena brushed Cheria’s hair away and tucked the lily behind her ear. “You really are beautiful, you know that?”

Cheria laughed. “I could say the same to you.”

The two girls leaned together at once, and their lips met in a kiss. It tasted of sweetness and life, and promises of a future filled with so many more.

It was more than Mileena could ever have dreamed of.

**Author's Note:**

> cherileena are happily married because im gay and i said so <3


End file.
